madaba
Discover our latest travel stories, tips, and insights
Aug 31, 2026
Madaba is a combination of rural home life and a hot spot for religious tourism. Known as the “City of Mosaics”, Madaba is the cultural epicenter for Byzantine and Umayyad mosaics. Just a short distance from the capital, visitors are just a stone's throw away from the holy monuments of religious iconography.
St. George Church Map
Northwest of the Roman street in Madaba you arrive to the Greek Orthodox Church of St George built in the 19th century housing the unique mosaic map dating to the 6th century AD that was uncovered in 1884. It represents a topographical source of Byzantine Jordan, Palestine and lower Egypt.
The map suffered from fire, Iconoclast, tomb-diggers, climate and rodents resulting in a piece measuring today 10.5m in length and 5m in width comprised of 700k-800k pieces of naturally colored tesserae.
Orientation of the map is to the east corresponding with the church not to the north. It depicts the Jordan River, Dead Sea, Kerak, Petra and the place where Jesus Christ was baptized to central Palestine with Jerusalem as navel of earth with parts of the Mediterranean and Nile delta.
St. George Church Map
Northwest of the Roman street in Madaba you arrive to the Greek Orthodox Church of St George built in the 19th century housing the unique mosaic map dating to the 6th century AD that was uncovered in 1884. It represents a topographical source of Byzantine Jordan, Palestine and lower Egypt.
The map suffered from fire, Iconoclast, tomb-diggers, climate and rodents resulting in a piece measuring today 10.5m in length and 5m in width comprised of 700k-800k pieces of naturally colored tesserae.
Orientation of the map is to the east corresponding with the church not to the north. It depicts the Jordan River, Dead Sea, Kerak, Petra and the place where Jesus Christ was baptized to central Palestine with Jerusalem as navel of earth with parts of the Mediterranean and Nile delta.